Harry Potter and the Secret of the Prophecy
by RavynPhyre
Summary: The end of the Harry Potter series. This is disregarding anything having to do with the 7th book.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter and the Secret of the Prophecy

Chapter 1

The Boy Who Lived

Harry Potter was not a normal boy in any way. For one thing, he had a scar in the middle of forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. For another, he was a wizard. He went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the school year and owned an owl, a wand, and more spell books than even he wanted. He also hated summer. This was due entirely to the treatment he received from his aunt and uncle and their son Dudley, whom he'd lived with since he was a baby because his parents had been killed by the dark wizard Voldemort. This dark wizard had tried to kill Harry also, hence the odd-shaped scar.

This summer was just as bad as all the others with the Dursleys. Though he was allowed to send letters to his friends and to do his homework, the Dursley's had made it as clear as possible that if anyone saw his owl, or his wand or his feather, he would once more be locked in the cupboard for the whole summer. This year, though, they were so infuriated about the visit from Professor Dumbledore before his sixth year at Hogwarts, that they would glare at Harry every time the doorbell rang and then walk out of the room, ignoring the poor person at the door, who usually ended up be the muggle post-man.

This morning, as usual, Harry woke up and went down for breakfast. When he walked into the kitchen, all three of the Dursleys glared and walked out. This made Harry quite pleased, now he could have breakfast in peace. Going to the refrigerator, Harry looked to his hidden stash of good food. Ever since Dudley's diet had started a year ago, the Dursleys kept only fruit and vegetables in their kitchen, though Harry could tell that Dudley and Uncle Vernon were cheating, because they both were increasing, not decreasing, in size.

Harry grabbed a chocolate-chip muffin, and, checking that the coast was clear, ran with it up to his bedroom so he could eat without fear of the Dursley's bothering him. He didn't have to worry much about this however, because the Dursley's had obviously decided that if they ignored him, than he would just disappear. So, Harry sat in his room, eating bits off of his muffin while looking through his broom maintenance kit that Hermione had given him years before- one of the few books Harry had managed to hide while his aunt and uncle searched his room to remove all of his things that could be remotely related to magic.

Finishing his muffin, Harry tossed the wrapper into the rubbish bin and, grabbing his wand, which he had also managed to hide, he walked outside into the crisp morning air. He needed a walk to clear his head. All the night before Harry had been thinking of the previous year: Dumbledore's death, Snape's betrayal, and, most of all, Ginny. Even with the terrible things that had happened, Harry could never stop thinking of her. How her beautiful red hair shined in the sun, how her freckles made her face shine, and the shine in her eyes when she was happy. Not being able to at least write her was all but killing Harry. Every night he thought of her, and he was regretting more and more his words to her at the end of last year, telling her that it was took dangerous for them to be together.

"Hey, watch it boy!" Harry's daydreaming was interrupted when he tripped and fell over what appeared to be a large cat. He couldn't get a good look at it because it streaked away as soon as he turned toward it. Looking up, Harry recognized an old, wrinkled face; the face of the person who had helped save him from being expelled in his fifth year.

"Ms. Figg! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" Harry stammered as he helped her collect her numerous bags of cat food.

"Well, I can see that!" puffed Ms. Figg angrily. "Now, pick up the rest of those bags and help me get them to the house."

Harry picked up the remaining bags of cat food and followed Ms. Figg back onto Privet Drive and to her home. Walking in, he found the whole place changed since the last time he had been there.

Seeing is amazement, Ms. Figg said, "Well, now that you know that I'm a squib, I don't have to hide my magical things. I don't care if any of these stupid muggles see, I'm proud to have at least some magic."

Shooing a cat off her kitchen counter, Ms. Figg told Harry to set the bags down, and then place them underneath the counter where the rest of the cats' necessities were kept. Once he had finished, Harry stood up, and, apologizing to Ms. Figg once more, left to continue his walk.

Today was a special day for Harry. It was also the day that, after finding out that the protection he received from living with the Dursley's would end when he turned seventeen, made Harry quiet nervous for many months. Today was his birthday. Technically, it wasn't until tomorrow that he actually turned seventeen, but since he was born so early in the morning, Harry usually celebrated the day before. Not that he had anyone to celebrate with; the Dursleys new habit of ignoring him deprived him of even the usual gift of a pair of old socks, but at least he usually received something from Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid.

Harry sighed. Thinking about his friends, about school, always brought back the memory of Dumbledore gulping the potion, Dumbledore falling from the tower… But he couldn't think of that; he wouldn't. Not now, not when he had finally stopped having the nightmares in which he, instead of Dumbledore, was killed by Snape.

Closing his eyes, Harry, tried to picture Hogwarts as it had been when he first started going to school; the first glimpse of it from the boats on the Black Lake, the thestrals carrying the carriages to the castle. He pictured all the happy moments there, savoring them. Harry did not plan on returning; he didn't even know if it would be open this year.

Harry suddenly heard a scratching at the glass of his window, grabbing his wand, he turned around and looked straight into Severus Snape's face. Harry blinked, not believing what he saw, and realized it was only a very ugly owl scratching to be let in.

Flying in, the owl took a turn around his room, then plopped down on Harry's recently made bed and sat, cleaning his feathers.

"Thanks, now Aunt Petunia will have my head for the mess you'll make." Sighed Harry, "Now, give me my letter, please."

Lazily, the owl stretched its leg out to Harry just as three more owls dive-bombed onto Harry's mattress.

Taking the four letters and three parcels, Harry shooed the owls, one of them being Pig (Ron's owl), one was Hermione's owl, and the other was a very testy Hogwarts owl who thought it was fun to nip at you when you tried to reach for your letter. Sitting on his bed, which was now covered in owl feathers, Harry read the letter from Hermione first, knowing it would cheer him up.

Harry!

Happy Birthday! I hope this gets to you on time, I'm in America with my parents visiting relatives. America is so much different than England! The witches and wizards here are the same, though. I went to a Magic shop in Wichita, Kansas (that's where we're visiting) and you should have seen all the books! It was wonderful! I'll have to tell you all about it when we all get together. Ron and I would like to know when that time will be, by the way. You've kind of kept us in the dark… Well, I hope you write to either Ron or I soon! Hope you are well.

Hermione

PS- Americans are awfully rude. Keeping their hands under the table during meals as if they have something to hide! I suppose that is just part of their culture, but really!

Smiling, Harry opened the package that went along with Hermione's gift. Inside were three packages of American chocolate, a box of chocolate frogs, and a book on American style Quidditch. Taking note to thank Hermione for the presents, Harry moved on to Hagrid's not and gift.

Harry,

HAPPI BIRTHDAE! I hope u r wel, I know I'm not feelin' to good rite now. Good news is that Hogwarts wil be open this yeer after all, McGonagall is takin' over as hedmistres! I cant wate to see u this yeer!

Hagrid

Harry reread the letter, making sure he understood it. Hogwarts would be open this year. And Hagrid was expecting him. He was tempted to just forget about his plans and go back to Hogwarts, the only place in the world that he had ever felt at home. _But_, He told himself_, you promised yourself that you would find the horcruxes! You have to, Dumbledore would want you to_. Deciding he could not change his plans, Harry moved on to Hagrid's gift. Opening the paper, he found a stack of chocolate frogs and a large book of magical creatures.

Next, Harry turned to the owl that he didn't recognize. Taking the letter out of it's claws, Harry saw the Weasley seal on the back, and assumed that this was the bird that the Weasley's had gotten to replace Errol after he ran into their window a little too hard.

Harry,

I have thought about what you said earlier about us breaking up, and I've decided I don't care. If you go looking for horcruxs, I'll go with you. I heard Ron talking to Hermione about them going with you, so I will too. I really like you Harry, I almost think I love you; I have since my first year at Hogwarts when you saved me from that Basilisk…

Anyway, I nearly forgot why I sent this- to wish you Happy Birthday! I hope to hear from you, or I'll just have to put a tracing spell on my next letter!

Ginny

PS- I've sent your gift along with Ron's, so it should arrive soon.

Harry's heart fluttered. Ever since he had broken up with Ginny, he had felt somewhat empty. Hating himself for feeling good about Ginny putting herself in danger because of him, Harry turned to Ron's letter and the parcel he had sent.

Hi Harry!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you enjoy the gift, it took me forever to find, and even longer to get the money for... Ginny sent her gift with it, and she sent a letter separately. Well, I hope to see you soon, Hermione and I need to know when we meet for that thing we're doing this year… Send Pig and Gordon back with a letter!

R**on**

Opening the large package, Harry found an antique broom book, with pictures of the antiques, from the oldest on. Flipping through the pages, Harry realized it was not only about the antique brooms, but a history of Quidditch. Setting down Ron's gift, Harry reached into the package for the present from Ginny. Pulling out a small box, Harry unwrapped it to find a locket about the size of his thumb. The locket looked like it was made of silver, with a large S inscribed on its front. Harry knew what this had to be, and looked back at the box to see if there was a note with it. There was.

Dear Harry,

Two years ago when we were at Sirius's house, we found this locket. My mum threw it away, but I saw Kreature grab it out of the rubbish bag. Later that day I got it from his room while he was cleaning the basement. I've had it ever since. I know this is the horcrux you and Dumbledore were looking for, so here it is. I'm sorry I kept it.

Ginny

Looking from the note to the locket in his hand, Harry could hardly believe it. He was actually holding a piece of Voldemort's soul. Harry didn't know what to do with it. He knew he had to destroy it, but he didn't know how. He needed to get to number 12 Grimmauld Place and talk to the Order. They would know what to do.

Later that day, Harry sat down in the kitchen to eat his dinner of steamed broccoli and spinach as he watched the muggle news. Just as the news got fairly interesting- apparently there had been an explosion at a muggle candy shop and candy was strewn for miles- there was a sudden green flash of light outside his home. Tossing his forkful of soggy vegetables on the table, Harry grabbed his wand from his pocket and ran outside.

Outside, all the neighbors had gathered to find out who had made the horrible green light. Harry quickly stuffed his wand into his pants where it wouldn't be seen. Looking around, Harry saw smoke rising from the house next door to his. The house was hidden by trees and bushes, so, getting around all the vegetation, Harry pulled out his wand and looked around. Where there used to be a house, there was only a steaming mound of ash.

Harry searched around the rubble for survivors. There was a very small chance that anyone had survived, but he searched anyways. As he went through the remains of what Harry supposed was the sitting room, he found a small piece of parchment and a quill seemingly untouched by the explosion.

Harry thought it was curious that this muggle family would have parchment and quills anyway. They, like the Dursleys, were as muggle as anyone on Privet Drive, excluding himself and Ms. Figg. Picking up the note, Harry read the scribbled writing on the page.

_You are next Potter._

Harry went white. Voldemort knew where he lived, and now he was trying to kill him at home. Harry knew that he couldn't be touched inside his home, but it still made the hairs on the back of his head stand up on end.

Suddenly, Harry heard chainsaws and realized that the muggles were taking down the trees to get to the house. Grabbing the quill and the note, Harry went around to the back of the house and snuck through the shrubbery, made his way over to the back of the Dursley's house and climbed over the fence, going inside to write to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the Order.

"Look Ron! Harry sent us a letter!" squealed Ginny, ecstatic to receive a letter from Harry, even if it was addressed to both her and her brother.

"Idonwannagetup." replied Ron, clearly still half asleep.

"RONALD WEASLEY, YOU GET UP THIS MINUTE SO WE CAN READ OUR LETTER FROM HARRY!" Ginny yelled at the top of her lungs, nearly knocking Ron out of bed.

Sitting up, Ron glanced at the clock, and then glared at Ginny. "It's four o'clock in the morning Ginny! We can read the bloody letter in the morning!"

"It says URGENT, Ron! Turn on the light so we can read it!" Ginny glared back hard at Ron until, giving in, he turned over and lit the lamp with his wand.

Ron and Ginny

There is trouble here, Voldemort destroyed the house next door to mine, and he left me a note. I'm afraid to go out; Dumbledore said I was only safe inside the Dursley's until I turned seventeen, which is today… I sent a letter about it to Hermione and the Order, but I don't know what they can do… I hope I'll see you soon… I miss you both. Bye.

Harry

Ron looked at the letter, still half asleep. Ginny, however, had taken in all of it in the first read-through. Springing up, she grabbed a hold of Ron, pulling him up off the bed.

"Ron, we have to go get him!" Ginny said, staring hard at Ron, who was still digesting the letter's contents, "Ron, listen to me! You have to apparate to Harry's and bring him back here! Do you understand?"

Finally, Ron gave a nod, seeming to understand everything now. Walking over to his wardrobe, Ron pulled on some old robes. Then, grabbing his wand off his dresser, and giving Ginny a glare, Ron dissapperated into the night.

9


	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter and the Secret of the Prophecy

Chapter 2

The Order Interferes

_"Severus…"_

_Dumbledore was pleading for his life. Snape was standing in front of him one the tower, an evil smirk on his pale face, wand raised. Harry was frozen in place under his invisibility cloak, only able to look on as Dumbledore was cornered by a gloating Snape._

_"Severus… please…"_

_Snape let a small laugh escape his lips, then leveled his wand at Dumbledore._

_"_Avada Kedavra_!"_

_The spell hit Dumbledore with a residual bang, jolting Harry to the ground._

Harry woke with a start, drenched in sweat, on the floor after apparently falling out of bed. The bang from his dream had knocked him out of bed. From the hallway, Harry could see a light.

"Must be someone going to the bathroom." thought Harry, even thought he swore it looked like a wand light.

Harry stood up and started to put the pillows and blankets back on his bed that had been pulled off when he fell out of bed. _I just stopped having these dreams!_ Thought Harry, _Why did they come back? It must be because of the house yesterday, and my birthday._

Suddenly, Harry heard a creaking by his door, and the next moment the door had been kicked open and people were coming in. Harry grabbed his wand off the nightstand, and pointed it at the shadowy figures, wondering if Voldemort had sent his Death Eaters already.

"Harry? Harry Potter? Put down your wand immediately. This is the Order of the Phoenix! We're here to take you to headquarters." said an unfamiliar voice.

"Harldo, don't say it like that. Harry knows who we are. If you hadn't insisted on breaking through the door in the dark, he wouldn't have been so alarmed!" Harry recognized this voice. Nymphadora Tonks had come with the Order two years ago to help take him to headquarters, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

At that moment the lights flicked on, flooding the room with light. Harry winced as his pupils got used to the brightness. After his eyes had adjusted, Harry looked around at all the wizards and witches- presumably aurors- had been sent by the Order to bring him to headquarters. Tonks was the only one he recognized; the Order must have expanded considerably since his last visit to Grimmauld Place. Her hair now was short and blue, slicked back against her neck with a light fringe of bangs around her temples. There had to be at least thirty new aurors, all looking at Harry with a slightly quizzical look in their eyes. Most had probably never seen him, and were peering around their co-Aurors, trying to get a glimpse of the boy who was rumored to be 'the Chosen One', the one to stop Voldemort.

Just then there was a soft pop behind Harry. Each auror raised their wand, anticipating the worst. Two reached forward and grabbed Harry's arms, unceremoniously dragging him behind several members of the group to safety from whoever was apparating into Harry's bedroom now.

"Who are you, and what are you doing at Number Four Privet Drive?" asked the wizard called Harldo, the one who had first spoken to Harry.

"Um, I-I'm Ronald W-Weasley, Harry's friend. He sent me a post; I was just coming to see if he was alright."

"Ron?" asked Harry. Pushing forward, "You came! I didn't think that you would come so soon. Didn't you just get the post?"

Once he reached it Ron, he saw that he appeared extremely pale. Looking around, Harry understood why. Every auror in the room had their wand pointed directly at Ron, all looking extremely dangerous.

"Stop! He's my friend, put your wands down!" said Harry.

"Put your wands down everybody! This is Weasley's son. I know him, he wouldn't do anything to harm Harry." ordered Tonks. On her command, the Order relaxed. "Sorry Ron! We're just a little nervous right now, what with the house not being protected anymore. Come on Harry, let's go get some tea. I'll explain to you and Ron why half the Order just appeared in your bedroom."

Tonks ushered Ron and Harry out of Harry's room and escorted them to the kitchen, followed by Harldo and two other wizards. The rest of the wizards and witches set up a guard system around the house.

"So, when did you get the post, I didn't expect a reply until morning, let alone expect that you would come here yourself. Does your mum know?" inquired Harry as they walked down the hallway towards the stairs.

"I didn't get it, Ginny did. She woke me up and told me 'bout it. So, I decided, since I was up I'd come and bring you back to the Burrow, just in case." replied Ron, attempting to look happy about apparating in the middle of the night.

"Ginny got the letter? Oh, how- how is Ginny? She ok, isn't she?" asked Harry, endeavoring to appear nonchalant.

Ron looked apologetically at Harry. "Sorry for brining her up, mate. She's fine, a little depressed at times, but fine." After a pause, he added, "I'm not upset about what you did. Don't worry… I just wish she would understand that you did what's best for her."

"I wish that I understood that too." whispered Harry, too quietly for Ron to hear.

Once in the kitchen, Tonks sat Harry and Ron down at the table and put the kettle on the stove.

"Ok, Harry. You're probably wondering why we're here." said Tonks as she searched for teabags.

"Not really." replied Harry. "You came because today is my birthday, and the protection that I received from Dumbledore is gone, so Voldemort can come get me any time he wants. They're in the left cupboard, right side, near the back."

"Thanks. Yup, that's one reason. Also since your neighbour's house was blown up yesterday," (Harry was amazed they'd heard so soon.) "We decided that we needed to get you to safety as soon as possible. So, here we are. The minister sent all of us to retrieve you; he didn't want any accidents. This is Dunabe Harldo, Head Auror. He organized the group and is heading the mission."

The man named Dunabe Harldo stood. Shorter than Harry, Harldo could not be over about five foot. Although short in stature, Dunabe seemed to command a certain respect from the room, with strong features and a certain authoritative darkness in his eyes. "Sorry for scaring the both of you back there, I was just trying to avoid disaster." said Harldo, looking truly sorry. "You know how things get at times like these…"

"I'm sure they're fine Harldo." laughed Tonks. She stopped when she saw Harry and Ron were not laughing with her. "_Hem_. Sorry. These two are Milo Wilkes and Fringe Rundle. They are trained bodyguards, so they'll be sticking close to you two on our way over."

Tonks pointed to the two largest men that Harry thought he had ever seen. They weren't large like Uncle Vernon or Dudley, who where merely fat; these two were, in opposition to Harldo, probably nearly sever feet tall, with giant muscles covering their arms and legs. They both looked as tough as they were tall, and as smart as they were muscular. Harry doubted if anyone would even dare giving him a passing smile or nod with these two mountainous bodyguards marching beside him.

"As for that matter, sorry Harry, but we won't be flying on broomsticks this time." said Harldo. Harry noticed that standing, he was not much taller than the dresser he stood beside. "That is too dangerous. Last time there weren't hundreds of Death Eaters set on killing you. We will have to apparate this time. I know you don't have your license yet, but the Ministry has granted you permission to apparate without it tonight. I trust that young Mr. Weasley has already gotten his license, am I correct?" (Ron nodded, looking both mortified at the contemplation of apperating to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and pleased that he had somehow done something right.) "Good. Now, get your things packed Harry, and then we'll leave."

Harry started to get up. As he did so, his elbow knocked against a picture frame, sending a picture of a potato-like blob that was Dudley at age three crashing to the floor. Three aurors ran in, wands raised.

"It's ok, Harry, I'll fix it." said Tonks, bending over the broken frame. "I'm pretty skilled at putting things back together, considering my record." Harry understood. Tonks had always been clumsy, ever since he'd met her at least. She seemed to have moved past that phase however, as she had yet to knock into anything or trip over anyone. Tonks muttered something and stood up, the frame following, coming back together and floating to its original place.

Something struck Harry at that moment. "Tonks?" he asked, "Where are the Dursleys? They would have heard you come in wouldn't they? And Aunt Petunia definitely would have heard a picture frame brake."

"Oh, don' worry 'bout the muggles." rasped Wilkes, speaking for the first time since he's been in Privet Drive. "They're magic'd so they won' wake up 'till after we leave. We left 'em a nice note too, so as they don' have t' worry 'bout you."

"Oh, they won't be worried." frowned Harry. "If anything they'll be upset that I didn't fall out the window and get carried away by wild dogs."

After a quick cup of tea, Harry and Ron ran up to Harry's room and packed his things into his trunk. They untidily threw everything into the trunk, not bothering to fold or organize any of it, just wanting to get done as quickly as possible. The pair quickly emptying the small room of all Harry's possessions, checking and double checking that they had not left any small item of Harry's behind. When they were finished, not even a poster or an old sock was left to remind the Dursleys that they had once housed their young nephew in that room, nor to reflect that that very same nephew had owned a wand, a broom, and an owl named Hedwig.

"Ginerva Weasley, where in the name of the Wizengammot did you say your brother went?" shouted Mrs. Weasley, her chin quivering as she glared at her daughter. That morning she had woken up to find Ron had disappeared the night before, leaving no note as to where he had gone to. "How could you let him do such a rash and, and _stupid_ thing? He could be killed! For all we know he is dueling you-know-who _right now_!" Mrs. Weasley's voice grew louder with each sentence, until by the final "right now", she was screaming at the top of her lungs, looking close to tears. Turning away she walked over to the fireplace, shouting at Ginny all the while, "I'm going to flew your father, maybe he knows something about Harry and Ron."

As her mother threw flew powder on the fire, Ginny slowly walked back up to her room, where she had been spending most of her summer holiday, laying on her bed thinking. Sometimes she cried, thinking about Dumbledore, about Hogwarts, about Bill, but mostly about Harry. Most of the time she just sat in her room thinking; about nothing in particular, just whatever came to mind at the time. For the past few days, however, Hermione had been sharing the room with her, forcing her to pretend to be out of her funk, to be her usual self. But she never would be the same again, not after last year. Ginny sat down on her bed, glad to have a few minutes alone while Hermione was off taking a shower. Just then Hermione walked in.

"Ginny, where's Ron? I thought we were going to practice Quiddich this morning." Hermione walked into the room, toweling her hair dry. Even wet, Hermione's brown, fluffy hair still poofed out to her shoulders.

"Ron's gone; he left last night to bring Harry here. He hasn't come back yet…" Ginny sat with her back against her headboard. "I thought they'd both be here by now to spend the rest of the holiday with us..."

Ginny looked apologetically at Hermione, then grabbed a book from her bookshelf and lay down on her bed, ending the conversation.

Hermione sat on her bed. She knew that Ron could be in serious trouble. It scared her so much that he and Harry were off, possibly dead at that moment. Even more it troubled her that Ron had not at least told her before he had left, not even left her a note. Now she had no way of knowing where he was or what was happening, she felt totally cut off from everything. All she could do now was wait and hope that he was alright and came back soon.

"Ginny, Hermione, come down here now, Ron's in the fire!" Mrs. Weasley shouted up the stairs. All morning she had sat around, waiting for some news from or at least about Ron. Just a minute ago, he had appeared in the fire via the flew network.

Seconds later, Ginny and Hermione, flushed with excitement, raced down the stairs, Hermione taking them two at a time.

"He's in the fire, really?" squealed Hermione, rushing passed Mrs. Weasley and kneeling inches from the green blaze shaped like Ron's head. "Ron! Thank goodness you're alright! I was so worried!" then, after a pause, "_Don't you ever do that to me again, Ronald!_ You could have been killed! Your mother and I and Ginny were so worried!"

Ginny ran forward, pushing Hermione out of the way. She needed to know if Harry was alright, she didn't need to hear all this trivial chatter from Hermione.

"Ron! Where's Harry? Tell me he's ok! If you didn't get there in time because of your lethargy this morning, I swear…" Ginny left the sentence hanging, knowing that Ron would appreciate the unsaid threat. She glared at Ron, inches from the green blaze that was their fireplace, hoping that the more she glared, the better the outcome would be.

"It's ok, Ginny! I got there right as the Order did. He would have been safe anyway. Hermione, mum, I'm at the Order's headquarters with Harry now, they want you lot to come down here for the rest of the summer because Harry has to stay here. I've gotta go though, the Flew network is really quite popular around here…" and with that, Ron's head swirled and disappeared into the shrinking green flames.

8


	3. Chapter 3

Harry Potter and the Secret of the Prophecy

Chapter 3

Back to Number 12

Dunny Locke had never seen an elephant. He was the only boy in Ms. Harper's third grade class who hadn't. Oh, he had seen them on television before, but never had he seen a real live elephant, not even at a zoo. He desperately wanted to; he had always been fascinated by that great size and their grey saggy skin.

Today, Dunny was going to get his wish. It was a perfectly normal day in London, grey, overcast, chance of showers, and already the fog was rolling in. Dunny strolled down the sidewalk like any other city kid, laughing at the confused tourists, spitting gum in the streets, and being completely rowdy in any way possible, just like usual. Today however, as Dunny strolled down King's Road, he couldn't help but notice a large grey mass standing in an alleyway. As was his nature, as soon as Dunny found that there was something unfamiliar that seemed harmless, he wanted to attack it. That would have been perfectly fine, had the elephant not turned around to face him and fixed him with the strictest look Dunny had ever seen on anyone, let alone an elephant. As you might imagine, an elephant focusing a strict look on you would be quite frightening, and so, Dunny ran in the opposite direction, screaming all the while about a giant elephant that tried to eat him. However, when the few shopkeepers went to look to see what in the alleyway had given the boy such a fright, all they saw was a tiny, wrinkled old man in grey rags sleeping in the very back corner of the alley.

This man was not just any man, as the muggles did not—and probably never would—know. This man was Aberforth Dumbledore, and he had come to pay his respects to his brother, and also find a new job. He had been standing in the alleyway reading a roadmap when little Dunny had found him. Aberforth always preferred to read maps as an elephant, he believed it helped him to remember what was on them, as it is common knowledge that elephants never forget. Now, as he lay pretending to sleep, he was visualizing how he could get from point A to point B (from here to Hogwarts) the quickest, cheapest, and easiest.

Deciding on his mode and route of travel, Aberforth slowly stood—due mostly to a slight case of scoliosis—and gathered his few things, then dissapperated with a soft _pop._

Number 12 Grimmauld Place was very busy now. Not only was it busy because the Order of the Phoenix, who used it as their headquarters, had gotten infinitely bigger recently, but also because every one of the members was there at the moment, preparing to meet Harry Potter, the new owner of the house, as he was staying for the duration of the summer.

Up in his new room on the third floor, Harry sat on his bed. He did not want to stay in this place that held so many memories; both good and bad. He hadn't returned since Sirius had died; now that he was here, he had to face all his memories. And he had to keep them in check anytime he was around people. _After all, it's been almost two years since Sirius died_; he thought to himself, _I shouldn't feel like this anymore_. But he couldn't help it. Sirius had been almost a father to him, something Harry had never experienced before.

Just as Harry was starting to feel sorry for himself, the door to his room flew open and Hermione and Ginny ran in, nearly smothering him as they hugged him for what seemed like forever.

"Harry! Harry, oh Harry! I can't believe it! I haven't heard from you all summer! Are you ok, what happened yesterday?" Hermione was bubbling; she had so much to talk to Harry about, and she had missed him so much that she could hardly contain her excitement. Ginny however had put distance between them; Harry could tell that she was unsure about how she should act. As Harry was looking at her, Ginny looked up, and for a moment they held eye contact. In that moment Harry realized that even if they turned out to not be meant for each other, they would still be close.

"Ron," Harry started as Ron walked in, "could you close the door, I need to talk to you three." As much as he hated to put Ginny in any danger, Harry had decided that he needed to tell her the truth. He had to let her choose for herself weather she wanted to be in danger or not. Anyway, he had to work out with Hermione and Ron when they would leave to start looking for the horcruxes, and he didn't know if there would ever be another chance. First, he decided he had to explain to Ginny what they had planned.

"Okay, here it is, Ginny. Hermione, Ron and I are not going back to Hogwarts this year. We're going to look for the remaining horcruxes instead. We don't know where they are, but we have a pretty good idea of what to look for, Dumbledore mentioned a few possible ones to me last year… But anyway, we're going to find them, and then figure out how to destroy them. You do know what a horcrux is don't you?" Ginny shook her head, looking confused and a bit agitated that the others knew and she didn't. "Oh, sorry, Ginny, I forgot I only explained it to Ron and Hermione. A horcrux is part of Voldemort's soul. When he kills someone, he uses that death to power a spell that takes a portion of his soul and puts it into any object that he decides. As long as he has a horcrux, he cannot completely die. That's why we've got to find them and destroy them, after we've found them and destroyed them all, we'll be able to destroy him for good."

"So, is the reason Voldemort didn't die the first time because he had har, er, horcruxes with parts of his soul still lying around somewhere?" asked Ginny, seeming to grasp the concept.

"Exactly." said Ron from behind her. "Now Harry, what're we gonna do now that we're here? It's not like they'll just let us walk off by ourselves!"

"Well, we'll just have to give them the slip." Harry had had this planned since he had discovered he would be living the remainder of the summer in this house, his house. "First of all, we've got to decide when. We know they won't just let walk out on our own; they want us to go to the 'safety' of Hogwarts. So we have to slip away sometime before September first. I'd say sometime close to the end of August, just so we leave when the Order are the busiest getting ready for the start of term and all the protection Hogwarts will need.

"We could leave in the next few days, and then we wouldn't have to bother buying books and –"

"–It would probably be best to go the day before we leave for Hogwarts, if not the morning of." interrupted Hermione. "We could leave a note or something and say we forgot to get something and had to go to Diagon Ally at the last minute, and we'd be at the train in time. They may not believe it, but by the time they figured it out, we'd be far enough away to not be caught, at least for a while." said Hermione matter-of-factly. As usual, her idea was the most sensible, and already thought out.

"Well, I guess that would work, but that would mean having to buy out school stuff, and then not using it." Said Ginny. She and Ron were always conscious of spending money, especially unnecessarily.

"Well, we could buy things for the road, you know, things that'll be useful to us while we're searching for the horcruxes. It's not like they'll check our bags or anything. We're not under house arrest." Hermione put in smartly.

Behind them, the door creaked. All four froze, afraid that someone had overheard the conversation, but when Harry went to look out, all he saw was an empty hallway. Looking around for the source of the door creak, Harry saw Trevor, an overlarge toad that belonged to none other than another of his Hogwarts friends Neville Longbottom.

"What is it Harry?" called Ginny from inside the room.

"Oh, it was just Trevor. Neville must be here, lets talk about this later and go see Neville."

4


End file.
